Method and means for weaving fabrics with portions of different pick count



H. M. WHITE ETAL METHOD AND MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS WITH PORTIONS OF DIFFERENT PICK COUNT Nov. 28, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 7,

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INVENTORS HERBERT M. Wh'l7'5 5' BY ARTHUR M. PAEJJLE) A TTOFNEKS Nov. 28, 1961 H. M. WHITE ET AL 3,010,482

METHOD AND MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS WITH PORTIONS OF DIFFERENT PICK COUNT Original File d Nov. 7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3

IN V EN TORS HERBERT M. wmrc a y Aer/1w M. FEE-$81.5)

5%6 adMaQ ATTORNEYS Nov. 28, 1961 H. M. WHITE ETAL 3,0

METHOD AND MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS WITH PORTIONS OF DIFFERENT PICK COUNT Original Filed Nov. 7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 g; INVENTORS MEAJE/PT M WHITE 6 BY 4677/01? M. PRESSLE) ATTUIPNEVS Nov. 28, 1961 H. M. WHITE ETAL 3,010,482

METHOD AND MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS WITH PORTIONS OF DIFFERENT PICK COUNT Original Filed Nov. 7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig 2505M mmwre 5 BY ART/{0R M. rmssugy RNEYS United States Patent 3,010,482 METHOD AND MEANS FOR WEAVING FABRICS WITH PORTIONS OF DIFFERENT PICK COUNT Herbert M. White and Arthur M. Pressley, Ware Shoals,

S.C., assignors to Riegel Textile Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application Nov. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 772,478. Divided and this application Mar. 12, 1959, Ser. No.

7 Claims. (Cl. 139-99) This invention relates generally to the formation of diaper fabrics, and more particularly to a novel form of birdseye diaper fabric incorporating a pinking bar and to the method and means by which this fabric is formed. The present invention is also applicable generally for forming fabric structures in which comparable functional or appearance characteristics are desired, as pointed out further below. This is a division of our copending application Serial No. 772,478 filed November 7, 1958, now abandoned.

The predominant diaper fabrics are gauze and birdseye, both of which are commonly formed on a dobby loom. These fabrics have heretofore differed characteristically, beyond the different weaves involved, in that gauze diaper fabric normally incorporates a fillingwise pinking bar at which the individual diaper units are out from a running web \m'th finished edges by pinking, while birdseye diaper fabric has been woven in a uniform running web that is cut straight in the filliugwise direction to separate units of diaper size that must then have the raw cut edges thereof finished by sewing which amounts to a substantial additional item of production expense.

The formation of a pinking bar in gauze diaper fabric presents no problem because gauze diapers have a twoply construction, the fabric therefor being tubular woven to provide the two plies, and while a pinking bar in order to be suitably resistant to fraying requires a weave construction of substantially higher pick count than diaper fabric, this higher pick count is readily obtainable simply by changing the gauze fabric tubular weave to a single ply at the pinking bar which automatically doubles the pick count to the order required without any change in the actual picking rate. In birdseye diapers, however, the construction is single ply so that a changed pick count for a pinking bar requires a corresponding change in picking rate which has not heretofore, insofar as we are aware, ever been providedfor in a practical manner.

According to the present invention, the incorporation of spaced fillingwise pinking bars in a birdseye diaper web is provided for by arranging automatically to slow the rate of letting-off and taking-up during the weaving of the pinking bar so as to obtain the necessary increasedpicking rate or pick count thereat. The arrangement provided by the present invention for this purpose operates uniquely to elfect the picking rate change sharply at the pinking bars and to maintain the pick count consistently uniform from one pinking bar to another so that a required pick count can be obtained dependably at each pinking bar formed in a running web, all as described in further detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a pinked birdseye diaper formed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective illustration of a dobby loom indicating the formation of a birdseye diaper web thereon incorporating pinking bars;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of a dobby loom such as is shown in FIG. 2 and further illustrating an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation detail, as seen substantially at the line 44 in FIG. 3, of means provided according to the present invention on a dobby loom such as is 3,010,482 Patented Novr 28, 1961 See shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 for differentially controlling the let-ofi motion during weaving of the pinking bars;

FIG. 5 is a top plan detail corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a further side elevation detail of the FIG. 4 means as seen from the right;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section detail taken on the line 77 in FIG. 8 and representing a continuation to the left of the means illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the ratchet wheel for a let-01f motion of a dobby loom such as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation detail, as seen substantially at the line 9--9 in FIG. 3, of means provided according to the present invention on a dobby loom such as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 for differentially controlling the take-up motion during weaving of the pinking bars;

FIG. 10 is a related side elevation detail as seen from the left in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a top plan detail corresponding to FIG. 10.

With reference now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a single ply diaper formed according to the present invention, as indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, comprising a birdseye body portion 11 on which selvage edges are formed in any usual manner at 12, while plain woven margins 13 having pinked edges 14 are provided at each fillingwise end thereof. 7

A diaper cloth Web from which the FIG. 1 diaper unit 10 may be cut is shown being formed in FIG. 2 at 15, a pinking bar being indicated at 16 extending fillingwise in the web 15, and such pinking bars 16 being spaced at warpwise intervals in the web 15 corresponding to the size of diaper unit 10 desired, with each pinking bar 16 formed in a Width equal to the aggregate width of the fillingwise margins 13 to be provided in the diaper unit 10 so that upon severing the web 15 by pinking fillingwise at the successive pinking bars 16 diaper units 10 are separated in succession therefrom.

The web 15 incorporating the pinking bars 16 is woven from a warp, shown at 17, which is controlled to weave a birdseye pattern except at the pinking bars 16 where the weave is changed to a plain pattern such as iscommonly provided for pinking bars. The weaving of the web 15 in this manner is carried out on a dobby loom of the type illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 in which a frame, indicated fragmentarily at 18, is arranged to support a main drive shaft 19 that: carries cams, such as is indicated at 20, for actuating the picking motion; is geared through a crankshaft 21 for actuating the beating motion; and is fitted with an eccentric arm 22 and connecting rod 23 running to a rocker arm 24 foroperating the dobby head 25 from which the shedding motion is controlled. 1

The picking motion comprises the usual arrangement of pick shaft 26 operated by the pick cam 20 and fitted with a pick arm 27 for connection through a lug strap 28 to a picker stick 29 by which the flight of a shuttle 30 is actuated to lay the picks in the warp shed during the weaving operation. The shuttle flight takes place across a lay 31 in front of a reed 32 by which each inserted pick is beaten-up, the beating motion comprising a connecting arm 33 extending from the previously mentioned crankshaft 21 to the lay 31 for pivoting the lay on a rock shaft support 34. This rock shaft 34 further carries a rock arm 35 having driving rods fitted thereon at 36 and 37 to actuate, respectively, the let-off and take-up motions by which feeding of the warp 17 and delivery of the woven web 15 is controlled in relation to the picking motion, as explained in further detail below.

The dobby head 25 that controls the shedding motion comprises the usual series of jacks 38 and operating index elements 39 for actuating the jacks Sit-selectively from a pattern or dobby chain 40 so as to cause a required number of the jacks 38 to manipulate the warp harness (not shownj for shedding in accordance with a desired weave pattern. The dobby head 25 is also equipped in the present case with a conventional form of multiplier motion such as is disclosed, for example, in US. Patent No. 691,608, by which provision is made for weaving the diaper cloth web 15 with a birdseye pattern while changing to a plain weave at the pinking bars 16. The use of a multiplier motion for this purpose is wellknown, the multiplier motion characteristically comprising a multiplier chain 41, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, which is mountedon an extension of the shaft 42 carrying the dobby chain 40 (compare FIGS. 3 and 4). The multiplier chain 41 is formed with certain of the links thereof carrying raised-lugs as indicated at 41' in FIG. 4, and theseraised lugs 41 determine the differential action of the multiplier motion on the dobby head 25 through a pivoted multiplier arm 43 riding the multiplier chain 41 and operating to change the phase relation of the dobby chain 40when shifted by the multiplier chain lugs 41',:so that a double pegged dobby chain 40 will have the alternate pegs thereon brought into play for changing the shedding motion to obtain an alternate weave pattern. .As soon as the raised lugs 41' on the multiplier chain 41 pass the multiplier arm 43 and allow it to resume its normal pdsition, the dobby chain 40 is caused to revert to its initial phase relation and the shedding thereupon returns to that of the normal weave pattern. In the present case, the normal weave pattern is the birdseye pattern devised for the body portion 11 of the diapers 10, and the 'dobby chain 40 is double pegged for an alternate plain weave, while'the multiplier chain 41 has the raised lugs 41' arranged thereon for actuating a change to the plain weave shedding at the intervals in which the pinking bars 16 are to be incorporated in the web 15. As previously mentioned, however, it is also necessary thatthe pick count be substantialy increased for the pinking bar 16 as they are incorporated in the single ply web 15 in order'to form these pinking bars 16 with adequate H resistance to fraying when pinked. Diaper cloth is normally woven with a pick count in the order of about 34 picks per inch, while a pick count about double this order is. needed in a pinking bar. To effect this necessary pick count change evenly and consistently in weaving the pinking bars 16, .the present invention provides means such as are illustrated particularly in FIGS. 4 to 11 for slowing the rate of letting-elf and taking-up during weaving of the pinking bars 22 and in-this way controlling the pick count thereat differentially.

'For this purpose, the multiplier arm 43 is fitted with an extension 44, asseen in FIGS. 4 and 5, and this extension 44 is connected to a control rod-45 extending therefrom to one-arm 46 of a bell crank 47 supported on a pivot stud 48 attached to the loom frame 18. The other arm 49 of and 8 to be a lessened oscillating amplitude for the let-01f pallet lever 55 to which the other end of the let-ofi connecting rod 51 extends and on which the pawls 56 are carried that operate the let-off ratchet wheel 57, so that the let-off motion is consequently slowed in a selected degree determined by the extent to which the let-oil connecting rod 51 is made to back off when the action of the multiplier motion commences the plain weaving of the pinking bars 16.

In order at the same time to slow correspondingly the take-up motion, one of the otherwise inactive jacks, such as 38' at the dobby head 25 is fitted with anextension arm 58, as seen in FIG. 9, from which a control rod 59 extends to one end of a lifter arm 60 that is mounted intermediate its length on a pivot stud 61 carried by a bracket structure 62 attached to the loom frame 18 (compare FIGS. 10 and 11). The other end of the lifter arm 60 has an arcuate portion 63 arranged in relation to the peripheral portion of the take-up motion ratchet wheel 64 at which the pick pawl 65 operates, the pick pawl 65 being carried on a rocking lever 66 to which the take-up motion driving rod 37 extendsfrom the beating motion rock arm 35 carried by the lay rock shaft 34. The mechanism thus provided is operated from the dobby jack' 38 by pegging the dobby chain so that the jack 38' becomes active at the same time that the plain weave shedding is commenced by the multiplier motion. In this way, the jack 38' is caused to operate between the FIG. 9 dotted line and full line positions throughout the plain weave shedding for the pinking bars 16, and upon so operating to actuate the lifter arm 60 between the dotted line and full line positions shown in FIG. 10. At the FIG. 10 dotted line position of lifter arm 60, the pick pawl 65 is allowed to operate in its normal fashion at the take-up ratchet wheel 64 to effect delivery of the woven web 15 at a rate corresponding to the pick count incorporated in the main birdseye pattern. In its fullline position, however, the lifter arm 60 presents'the arcuate portion 63 thereof to lift the pick pawl 65 off of the ratchet wheel 64 and therea particular requirements for weaving the pinking bars 16.

the bell crank 47 extends to dispose a slotted ear portion and a return spring 54 being arranged to keep this driving 7 collar 53 normally in following relation with the driving rod 36.

Upon actuation of the multiplier arm 43 by the raised lugs 41' of the multiplier chain 41, however, the let-elf control rod 45 pivots the bell crank 47' from the dotted line to the full line position shown in FIG. 6 so as to bring the slotted ear portion 50 thereof into abutting relation with the adjacent connecting rod stop collar 52 and thereby back off the connecting rod driving collar 53 in relation to the driving rod 36 to shorten the shifting stroke of the let-off connecting rod 51. The result of this shortened stroke for the connecting rod 5-1 is seen in FIGS. 7

A representative diaper unit 10 may be formed according to the present invention using 25s cotton warp in a sle'y of about 76 and 20%s cotton filling at 34 picks per inch in the birdseye body portion 11 and at 70 picks per inch in the pinked marginal edge portions 13, the diaper cloth web 15 having the pinking bars 16 incorporated therein at a plain woven width of 1% inches and at a regular spacing warpwise of the web 15 corresponding to thesize of diaper unit 10 desired. Aconstruction of this sort provides a birdseye body portion 11 of normal form and substance, while incorporating the substantial advantage of pinked edges 14 at plain woven marginal edge portions 13 that are reliably formed to prevent fraying. 'The particular specifications given for the representative construction above may, of course, be varied in accordance with common practice in forming diaper cloth, except that the pick countat the pinking bars 16 must be regulated carefully. In general, the pinking bar pick count should be in the order of twice that of the birdseye body portion of the diaper cloth web 15, which will ordinarily provide a necessary minimum in the order of 60 to 64 picks per inch at the pinkingbars 16.

The close selective control of the rate of letting-off and taking-up afforded by the present invention allows the required or desired pinking bar pick count to be introincrease at the pinking bar in relation to the birdseye portion of the Web 15, and it will be recognized that the same principle may be employed for varying the pick count according to a consistently uniform pattern in any continuously woven fabric, whether or not the shedding changes as the pick count varies, because a multiplier motion might be used to effect the pick count variation without changing the shedding if desired, or the dobby chain 40 might be pegged to actuate the jack 38 specially at selected intervals to adjust the take-up motion in the manner described above, while an additional normally inactive jack of the dobby head series 38 might be similarly actuated for corresponding adjustment of the let-off motion.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only, and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

1. The method of forming a fabric structure for diapers which comprises Weaving a fabric web by picking and shedding, controlling said shedding in a birdseye pattern for a sufiicient number of picks to weave a diaper body portion, and then changing said control to shed in a plain pattern for a suflicient number of picks to weave a pinking bar portion extending tillingwise in said web, while simultaneously and positively through pattern means slowing both the letting-off and taking-up simultaneously with changing of said shedding to increase the pick count sufiiciently to render said pinking bar portion adequately resistant to fraying upon severing of said Web thereat by pinking, said positive slowing of both the letting-ofi? and taking-up producing a substantially uniform pick count throughout said pinking bar portion.

2. The method of forming a pinked birdseye diaper which comprises weaving a single ply fabric web while picking continuously and shedding for each pick, while controlling said shedding alternately in a birdseye pattern for a sufficient number of adjacent picks to weave a diaper body portion and in a plain pattern for a sufiicient number of adjacent picks to Weave a pinking bar portion extending fillingwise of said Web, and while simultaneously and positively through pattern means slowing both the letting-0E and taking-up during said plain weave shedding to substantially half the rate thereof during said birdseye weave shedding, said positive slowing of both the letting-oil? and taking-up producing a uniform pick count throughout said pinking bar portions.

3. In a dobby loom having positively operated let-oif and take-up motions and a dobby head equipped with a multiplier motion for changing the shedding pattern at selected pick intervals, means positively controlled by said multiplier motion for simultaneously changing the rate of travel of both said let-01f and take-up motions upon each change in the shedding pattern effected by said multiplier motion.

4. In a dobby loom having positively operated let-01f and take-up motions and a dobby head equipped with a multiplier motion for changing the shedding pattern at selected pick intervals, means operated from said dobby head for controlled simultaneous slowing of both the rate of travel of said let-off and take-up motions simultaneously with changing of the shedding pattern by said multiplier motion, said last mentioned means being operable While maintaining a constant picking motion and while shedding continuously for each pick.

5. In a dobby loom having let-off and take-up motions positively driven during weaving and a dobby head equipped with a multiplier motion for changing the shedding pattern at selected pick intervals during weaving, means operated from said multiplier motion for simultaneously and positively changing the driven rate of operation of both said let-off and take-up motions simultaneously with each change of shedding pattern by said multiplier motion.

6. In a dobby loom having let-ofi and take-up motions positively driven during weaving and pattern means for changing the shedding pattern at selected pick intervals during Weaving, said pattern means simultaneously and positively controlling changes in the driven rate of operation of both said let-ofi and take-up motions simultaneously with changes of said shedding pattern by said pattern means.

7. In a loom having positively operated let-off and takeup motions, and pattern means for changing the shedding pattern at selected pick intervals during weaving, said pattern means positively controlling changes in the rate of travel of said let-off and take-up motions for simultaneously changing the shedding pattern and the let-off and take-up rates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 858,052 Atkins June 25, 1907 1,479,571 Weissenborn Jan. 1, 1924 1,703,471 Brown Feb. 26, 1929 2,170,762 Moberg Aug. 22, 1939 2,613,693 Jarvis Oct. 14, 1952 2,713,359 Dangel et al July 19, 1955 2,951,508 Purdy et a1. Sept. 6, 1960 

